Airlines seeking to snuff traveler rights?

How fewer regulations could affect your flights

Updated 6:55 pm, Thursday, February 8, 2018

Photo: Jim Glab

Current rules bar airlines from subjecting passengers to hours-long delays while on the plane.

Current rules bar airlines from subjecting passengers to hours-long...

The Trump Administration has made no secret of its disdain for government regulations, and the airline industry is now reportedly hoping the U.S. Transportation Department will eliminate a number of rules designed to protect passengers.

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That agency has become more pro-consumer in recent years, adopting several rules that try to rein in perceived airline abuses and deceptive practices. So now the airline industry is hoping to turn the tide.

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>A regulation that gives consumers a 24-hour grace period after making a booking, during which they can cancel the reservation with no penalty. Without that rule, consumers could be charged a fee for canceling or changing a reservation, even if they made a mistake in booking it.

>The tarmac delay rule, which says that when a domestic flight is delayed on the ground for at least three hours without taking off, passengers must be given the chance to get off the plane. If not, the airline could face substantial fines. Since the rule was enacted several years ago, the number of hours-long delays with passengers stuck on the plane has plummeted.

>Regulations that require airlines to show the full cost of a ticket to consumers in advertising and in online searches. Previously, airlines could display just the base fare, but now they have to show a price that also includes all government taxes and mandatory fees and surcharges (such as fuel surcharges). Before the rule, airlines typically tucked those extra charges into small type at the bottom of advertisements.

>A rule that bars the big computer reservations systems used by travel agents from incorporating any kind of display bias – i.e., deliberately listing the flights of one carrier higher up in the search results than others, instead of relying on objective metrics like price or departure times. Studies have shown that airlines displayed on the first screen of search results are more likely to be booked than others farther down. The airlines also want to end a rule that requires these displays to show flights’ on-time performance data and cancellation rates.

>A rule that requires airlines to honor very low fares entered by mistake into their computers.

>Regulations that bar airlines from charging fees for providing passengers with wheelchair service when they need it.

The article states, "The rules matter because DOT is just about the only protection consumers have in U.S. air travel."

In a similar article in the Washington Post last month, consumer advocate Christopher Elliott wrote, "Airlines, emboldened by a government that can't or won't regulate it in the way most customers expect it to, will try to squeeze passengers for every dollar. "

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On a positive note, the WSJ article points out that airlines are also asking for passenger friendly changes, such as being able to offer denied boarding compensation electronically or via debit card, instead of via check as current regulations require. They also asked for clearer rules about "emotional support" animals to help curb abuse as we've recently reported.

Readers: Do you think the government’s consumer protection rules are too burdensome for airlines? Or so they serve a useful purpose and should be retained? Will airline regulation erupt into yet another partisan issue? Please leave your comments below